1. Field
Display of digital video.
2. Background
The advent of digital television (DTV) allows a viewer to see video content formatted for DTV, 16:9 TV screen, and/or a movie theater by filling the entire active display area of a DTV screen or monitor. For example, a DTV program or movie as presented in a theater may be shown on a 16:9 TV screen and fill the entire vertical display space and horizontal display space of that screen where the entire vertical display space and the entire horizontal display space describe a total active display area for the screen. Thus, the screen's total active display area is filled such that the screen does not display vertical or horizontal portions that are blank, black, or without video content. Sections where regions of the screen that are blank, black, or without video content are typically described as “pillar-bars” in the case where 4:3 content is viewed on a 16:9 display, and for the case where the video content is wider than the display, this is usually referred to as displaying the video content in a “letterbox” format (the horizontal bars resembling a “letter box”). Only video produced for analog TV and viewed on an analog TV will have a perfect match, most other cases will require “pillar bar”, “letter box”, cropping such as “Pan and scan”, or scaling which does not preserve the original content aspect ratio.
However, broadcast video (e.g., a TV program), which is typically shot in 4:3 ratio (1.33:1) along with “wide screen” movie theater content, is viewed on most 16:9 DTV devices by using “pillar-bars” or “letterbox”. For example, it is possible to adjust the display size of the active material or content to be displayed on the DTV, by manually adjusting the vertical and/or horizontal display size menu options of a DTV, so that the content will completely fill the vertical display space or horizontal display space of the DTV screen.
Moreover, some TV programs, movies, digital video disc (DVD), and digital TV source content (e.g., such as satellite broadcast) may be in ratios other than 4:3, or 16:9. For example, in some cases, “standard” pillarbox or letterbox cropping (e.g., such as cropping to properly fit video in 4:3 ratio onto a 16:9 TV screen) may interfere with “active” material or content in the program or movie (e.g., such as by not displaying all of the active material or content of the program on the monitor because parts of the active material or content that has an aspect ratio other than 4:3 extend beyond the monitor edges).
In addition, where the active material or content has a certain vertical display size during one period of a TV program or movie, and then has a different vertical display size, during another period of the TV show or movie, display of the portions of the content in the larger vertical size may not fit on the screen. Specifically, where the content excludes subtitles during some parts of a movie, but includes subtitles having a vertical display size to be displayed below the video or “picture” portion (e.g., such as in a 2.2:1 ratio to be displayed below the video content), the subtitles may extend below or beyond the total vertical display size of the screen, and thus not be viewable. This is because current DTV technology does not adjust the vertical display size of the active material or content to fill the vertical display space of the screen when the vertical display size of the active material or content changes. In other words, a user who sets up a DTV to fill an entire 16:9 ratio screen with a 16:9 TV program or movie video or “picture” portion, may be unable to view subtitles that appear below the 16:9 program or movie because the subtitles are below the active display area of the screen and therefore are not displayed, without going into the DTV screen menu and adjusting the vertical display size of the active material or content of the program or movie to fit within the screen. As a result, to view the subtitles, it is possible to adjust the vertical display size of the TV program or movie video or “picture” portion, using a DTV's menus, to be less than the total vertical display space of the screen, so that when the subtitles appear, they fit within the total vertical display space of the screen. However, this adjustment will leave a “pillar-bar” or a rectangle below the movie active material or content in the region of the screen where the subtitles were displayed when the subtitles are not present. Thus the display size of the TV program or movie active material or content, without the subtitles, will have a vertical display size less than the available vertical screen size when the subtitles are not present.
Moreover, the creator of a TV program or a theater movie may choose to format in a ratio other than 4:3 or 16:9 (e.g., such as 2.66:1, 2.35:1, 2.20:1, or some other ratio), or the TV program or movie may include menus, photos, and special features (e.g., that have a ratio other than 4:3 or 16:9). Thus, similarly to the description above for subtitles, a user or viewer having a monitor (e.g., such as a DTV with a 16:9 ratio) set up to fill the entire active area of a DTV screen with a TV program or movie may be unable to view portions, segments, menus, or photos or specifications that extent beyond the total active display area of the screen as originally set up on the DTV. Such situations necessitate set up of the DTV to shrink the display of the TV program or movie video or “picture” portion prior to or during viewing of the TV program or movie. For example, prior to or during viewing of the TV program or movie, the DTV may be set up with conservative or larger pillar-bars or letterbox so that the content that is extended beyond the total active display area of the monitor or screen during all of the movie, menus, photos, special features, and subtitles, can now be viewed. In this case, the active material or “picture” content of the program or movie will be smaller than necessary.